Swaging machine and feeder therefor



Oct. 16, 1951 C. E, McKlNsEY 2,571,594

swAGING MACHINE AND FEEDER TEEREEQR Filed Nov. 5, 1945 l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 f Y X36 /72 74 pig |I w 2 Inventor:

Clarence E. McKmsey I-Is Attorney c3.v E. MGKINSEY SWAGING MACHINE AND AFEEDER THEREFOR Oct. 16, 1951 2 s'r-IEETs-SHEET 2 Filed NOV. 3, 1945 I rwvercorw Clarence E. McKinsey.

H is Attorney.

Patented Oct. 16, 1951 SWAGING MACHINE AND FEEDER THEREFOR Clarence E. McKinsey, Painesville, Ohio, assigner to General Electric Company, a. ,corporation of New York Application November 3, 1945, Serial No. 6265557 4 Claims.

My invention relates in general to wire swaging apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus lfor automatically feeding lengths of wire endwise into the swaging head of a wire or metal swaging machine.

Certain types Vof lead-.in wires for large sized electric incandescent lamps comprise an inner lead portion of relatively heavy, rigid wire, one end of which is formed with a hook for clamp- `ing the lamp filaments therein and the other end of which is tapered dow-n to Aconform in size to the diameter of the seal wire. portion ofthe leadvin wire Which is v`o1il.tvv=,1ded thereto. In form- Uing suc-h Vinner lead port-ions, it is customary to first form the filament clamp hook -a-t one end of the wire and to then taper or swage the opposite end of the wire :down to the,v required diameter by insertion into vthe swag-ing head of a conventional type Wireswaging machine.

Heretofore, the insertion of the hooked end,A leads into the swaging head has been .performed Iby hand, the operator .simply grasping the hook end of the lead and then moving it -.endwise into the aperture in the swaging head. However, such hand insertion of the lea-.ds into the swaging head,

' besides being a Slo-w and tedious operation, oftenv resulted in injury to the operators hand due to the frequent catching of the. leads in the rotating -diesof the swaging head. When this .oceurred, the lead wouldzbe rapidly rotated or spun around in the operators lingers with such force will automatically insert.y `the lengths of wire a predetermined distance into the swaging head.

Further objects .and advantages or" my invention will 4appear from the ollowing description of ,a species thereof and from the accompanying drawing in which; l

Fig. 1 is. a front elevation, partly in. section, of apparatus comprisingumy invention; Fig. 2 is .a plan view of .the said apparatus.; Fig. 3 is a vertical .section on line 3,-3 of Fig.. vv1 but with the wire-elevating slide showninits lowered posi- 2 tion; Fig. 4 is a plan View of the plunger head and its cooperating cam plate, the plunger head `loeing shown in its starting or wire-receiving position; and Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig.. 4 but with the plunger head shown in an advanced or wire-gripping position.

Referring to the drawings, the invention is there shown as applied to a conventional Wire swaging machine such -as that manufactured by the Torrington Company of Torrington, Connecticut, andv comprising a swaging head I mounted on -a table 2 and containing dies (not shown) for swaging `a wire inserted endwise into an aperture 3 in the head I. In accordance with the invention, the wires 4 to be swaged are stored in a hopper 5 mounted on the upper side of .the table 2 ina position alongside the front vface 6 of the swaging head I and .below the path .of movement yof the wires 4 into .the said head. The hopper 5 is arranged tov receive and hold `the wires 4 in substantially parallel relation to one another and to their .path of movement into the -swaging head I. In the particular case illustrated wherein the wires il are formed w-ith hooks v l :(F-igs. 4 and v5) at one end, they are loaded into the hopper 5 with their other or plain ends (i.f.e., the end to be swaged) facing the swaging head -I. As sho-wn in Fig. 3, the ends V8 of the hopper 5 converge downwardly so as to guide the wires t laterally in the hopper into -a position more or which 'is guided in ways I0 in a bracket II fastened to and depending from the underside of the table 2. -rIhe slide '9 is held in the ways III of the 'bracket l I by a cover plate I2 fastened to the bracket, as by screws. VThe upper end of the vslide 9 is formed with a groove I3, of semicircularcrosssection conforming to the cross-section of the wires 4, for receiving one of the wires therein. The sides of the slide v9 are rounded or tapered steeply away from the opposite side extremities of the groove I3, as indicated at I@ in Fig. 3, so as to cast aside all wires other than the one picked up in the groove i3 during the upward movement of the slide through the stack of wires Il in the hopper.

The slide 9 is normally located in a lowered position vbeneath the table 2 with its upper end 1ocated below the bottom wall I5 of the hopper 5. During the operation of the machine, the slide 9 is moved vertically upward, through aligned openings I 6 and I1 in the table 2 and bottom wall I5 of the hopper, to the elevated position shown in Fig. 1 wherein the wire 4 within the groove I3 inthe slide is positioned opposite and in alignment with the wire-insertion aperture 3 in the swaging head I. The said elevated position of the slide 9 is determined by the engagement of an adjustable stop screw I8 with a stop lug I9 extending from the lower end of the slide support bracket II. As shown in Fig. 1, both the slide 9 and the hopper opening I1 therefor are made of shorter extent than the length of the wires 4 and are centrally located relatively to the hopper sides so that the wires 4 overlying the opening I1 are supported at their opposite ends by the bottom wall I5 of the hopper and are thus prevented from falling through the opening I1 when the slide is in its lowered position whence they would become jammed between the slide and the underside of the hopper bottom wall I5 upon subsequent upward movement of the slide.

The vertical reciprocating movement of the slide 9 is imparted thereto by a rocker arm or lever comprising arms 20, 2| mounted on a shaft 22 which is ljournaled in a bracket 23 fastened to and depending from the underside of the table 2. The swinging end of arm is pivotally connected to the slide 9 by link 24 while the swinging end of arm 2| is pivotally connected by a connecting rod to one arm '26 of a bell crank lever 21 pivoted on a shaft 28 extending from an upstanding bracket 29 fastened to the upper side of the table 2. The connecting rod 25 moves through an elongated opening 30 in the table 2 which opening is also arranged to receive the arm 26 of the bell crank lever 21 during its oscillating movement. The other arm 3| of the bell crank lever 21 is provided with a roller 32 which rides on the periphery or cam edge 33 of a plate cam 34 mounted on a cam shaft 35 journaled in the bracket 29. The cam shaft 35 is rotated at the desired operating speed by means of an electric motor-driven speed reducer 36 which is mounted on the upper side of the table '2 and which drives the cam shaft through a gear train comprising spur gears 31,

38, 39 and 40. Gear 31 is mounted on the shaft 4| of the speed reducer and meshes with gear 38 mounted on a stud shaft 42 journaled in an upstanding bracket 43 fastened to the upper side of the table 2. Gear 39 is also mounted on the shaft 42 and meshes with the gear 40 which is mounted on the cam shaft 29. Tension coil Springs 44 and 45, respectively connected at one end to the rocker arm 2n and to the bell crank` lever arm 3|. tend to hold the roller 32 on the bell crank lever in continuous engagement with the periphery 33 of the cam 34 and thus pull the slide 9 upwardly to its elevated position with the stop screw I8 in engagement with the stop lug I9. Spring 45 is connected at its other end to a spring post 46 extending from bracket 29 while spring 44 is connected at its other end to a suitable stationary part of the machine, such as platform 41 located above the table 2. The spring 44 extends through a suitable opening 48 provided therefor in the table 2.

Upon being carried by the slide 9 from the hopper 5 to its elevated position opposite the a wire-inserting mechanism to thereby effect Vthe swaging of the forward end of the wire. The said wire-inserting mechanism comprises a horizontally reciprocating carriage or push rod 49 carrying a head assembly or chucking means 50 at its forward end for engaging and firmly gripping the hooked end portion 1 of the elevated l wire 4. The push rod assembly or carriage 49 is slidably mounted in bearings 5| on an upstanding bracket 52 fastened to the upper side of the platform 41 which is supported at its opposite ends on the bracket 29 and the swaging head I.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5, the push rod head or chucking means 50 comprises a block-shaped member 53 non-rotatively fastened to the front end of the push rod, as by a set screw, and formed with a cone-shaped recess 54 in its front face providing a seat for the hooked end 1 of the wire 4. The push rod head 50 carries a pair of pivoted jaws 55, 55 provided with wire-receiving V-notches '56 (Fig. 4) in their gripping faces for gripping and holding the wire firmly a short distance from its hooked end 1 during the insertion of the wire into and its removal from the swaging head I. The jaws 55 are received within and pivoted in horizontal slots 51 in the opposite sides of the block 53, and they are mounted on verticall shafts 58, 58 which are carried by the block 53 and project downwardly beyond the underside thereof. Jaw operating arms 59, 59 provided with rollers 80, 6U are secured to the projecting lower ends of the jaw shafts 58. A tension coil spring 6I, connected between posts 62 on the two jaws 55, tends to pivot and maintain the jaws in their closed or wire-gripping position as shown in Fig. 5.

When the push rod or carriage 49 is in its retracted position, the jaws 5'5 are held in open or separated position (Fig. 4), to receive the wire 4 therebetween, by the engagement of the rollers 60 on arms 59 with forwardly diverging cam surfaces 63 on a cam plate 64 carried by a bracket 65 fastened to the upper side of the platform 41. During the subsequent advance movement of the push rod 49 towards the swaging head I, the hooked end 1 of the elevated wire 4 is received and seated in the recess 54 in the block 53 and the divergent cam surfaces 63 allow the rollers 60 to separate, thus permitting the spring 6I to pivot the jaws 55 to close them against the wire-4. The engagement of the hooked end 1 of the wire 4 within the seat 54 together with its engagement by the jaws 55 thus serves to hold the wire rmly in position. As soon as the jaws 55 grip the wire 4 during the advance movement of the push rod 49, the slide 9 is then lowered out of the way of the advancing push rod 50 by the rise of the slide operating cam 34.

The horizontally reciprocating movement of the push rod 49, to advance the wire 4 into and retract it from the swaging head I, is imparted thereto by a more or less vertically extending lever 66 pivoted at its lower end on the shaft 28 and connected adjacent its other end, by link 81, to the rear end of the push rod. At a point intermediate its length, the lever 66 carries a roller 68 which rides on the periphery or cam edge 69 of a plate -cam 10 mounted on the cam shaft 35. The roller 68 is continuously held against the cam surface 69 by the pull of a freely suspended weight 1I carried by a steel tape 12 which is drawn over a pair of pulleys 13, 14 and is connected at its other end by link 15 to the upper end of the lever 66. The pulleys 13, 14 are rotatably mounted on upstanding brackets 18. 'I'I mounted respectively on the table 2 and the 'n platform 41. The use= of a freely suspended weight 1I'r rather than a coil spring to advance l the push rod 49 so asto insert the` wire 4 endwi-seinto the swaging head I is preferred for the reason that such weight 1l will not vibrate, as

*a eoil'springwould, under the action of lthe swaging dies in the swa-ging head'. Ilhe use of the weight '-II- therefore insures that the wire 4 will not vibra-te back andi forth during its insertion into 'the swaging head I, a condition which` would otherwise' result in improper swaging of the wire 'and' corresponding lossof concentricity.V

The forward movement of the push rod'-'49, and therefore the amount of advance movement of the wire 4 endwise into the swaging head I, is limited by the engagement of the lever 66 with -an adjustable stop screw 18 (Fig. 1) carried by an arm 19 fastened to the bracket 29. By adjusting the position of the stop screw 18, the extent of swaging of the wire il back from its forward with a pointer 89 which moves across or scans a horizontally disposed bar SI provided with suitable graduations 82. The bar BI is supported at its opposite ends on the pulley support lbrackets 16, 11.

After the wire 4 has been inserted the full distance into the swaging head I to thereby complete the swaging of the wire, the push rod 49 is retracted by the rise on thecam 19 to thereby withdraw the wire from the swaging head. Simultaneously with the retraction of the push rod 49, the wire-elevating slide 9 begins its upward stroke -by reason of the drop on the cam 34 and the pulling action of the coil springs 44, 45. During the last portion of the retracting movement of the push rod 49, the rollers 69 on the jaw pivoting arms 59 strike against and ride along the converging cam surfaces 63 of the cam plate 64, causing the jaws 55 to open and thus release the -swaged wire 4 which is then free to drop. The

released wire 4 falls onto a rearwardly declined the rear side of the slide 9 when the latter is in its elevated position so that the said chute is out of the path of vertical movement of the slide. Upon dropping -into the chute 84, the wire 4 then slides down the said chute into `a collecting boX 85 mounted on the table 2 beneath the discharge end of the chute.

The delectorrplate 83 is fastened toa swinging arm 8E so that it may be swung out of the way of the wire-carrying slide 9, during the upward movement of the latter, to thereby enable the slide to elevate the wire 4 carried thereby to its position opposite the aperture 3 in the swaging head I. The arm 86 is pivoted on a pin 81 projecting forwardly from the push rod head block 53, and it carries a stop pin S8 which engages the upper surface of the block 53 to thereby determine the pivotal wire-deflecting position of the arm 8S and defiector plate 83. The said arm 86 and plate 83 are normally held in their wiredeecting position (shown in full lines in Fig. 3) by the pressure of a plate spring 89 which is fastened to the upper side of the block 53 and bears downwardly against the stoppin 88 on the arm 86. Thev deiiector plate 33 is swung out of the path of upward movement of the slide 9 by I the slide itself', the free end vof the deflector plate -83 being-bent downwardly and forwardly for this Vpurpose to provide a steeply inclined tongue portion 99 which is engaged by the rounded upper end portion I4 of the slide 9 to thereby pivot the said-S platey 83 and Iits support armr 86 upwardly,

'against' the resistance of the plate spring 89,

until the 'slide isfree to ride over the bend 9| in the defiector plate '83. Asthe upper end of the kslide 9- passes down beyond the bend 9I in .the

deilector plate E32/on the ensuing downward stroke off-thel slide, the springv 89 then pivots and returns -the--Yarm- 861 vand associated deflector plate 83 to their wire-receiving position once again.

What If claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

lig In combination with a wire-swaging machine of the type having a head adapted to taper down an end of a length of wire, apparatus for feeding the lengths of wire into the work-receiving aperture of the swaging machine head'com- 'prising a wire-storage hopper mounted adjacent the swaging head, transfer means for picking up thewires i-n said hopper one at a time and transferr-ing them to a horizontally extending position opposite and longitudinally aligned with the said aperture, a carriage horizontally reciprocable -towards and away from the swaging head to carry the positioned wire into and out of the swaging head aperture, said carriage being provided with chucking means arranged to grip and hold the said positioned wire in its said longitudinally aligned relation with said aperture during the reciprocating movement of the carriage, and means for actuating the transfer means and carriage in proper time relation, said actuating means comprising a cam, a follower riding on said cam and connected to the carriage to reciprocate the same, and a freely suspended weight connected to said follower for holding it in engagement with the cam and advancing the carriage towards the swaging head to press the wire carried thereby into the swaging head with uniform force.

2. Apparatus for feeding lengths of wire into the work-receiving aperture of a `swaging machine head of the type having a head adapted to taper down the inserted end of the wire, comprising a hopper for holding a supply of the wires, an elevator movable upwardly through the hopper to pick up one of the wires therein and elevate it into a horizontally extending position opposite and longitudinally aligned with the said aperture, a carriage horizontally reciprocable towards and away from the swaging head to carry the positioned wire into and out of the swaging head aperture, said carriage being provided with chucking means arranged to grip and hold solely by itself the said positioned wire in longitudinally aligned relation to said aperture during the reciprocating movement of the carriage, and means for actuating the elevator and carriage in proper time relation to raise the elevator during retraction of the carriage and to lower the elevator during the advance movement of, but only after gripping of the positioned wire by the holder means on the carriage, lsaid actuating means comprising a freely suspended weight operatively connected with said carriage to advance it toward the swaging head and press the wire carried thereby into the swaging head with uniform force.

3. Apparatus for feeding lengths of wire into the work-receiving aperture of a swaging machine head of the type having a head adapted to taper down the inserted end of the wire, compris- 7 ing a hopper for holding a supply of the wires, an elevator movable upwardly through the hopper to pick up one of 'the wires therein and elevate it into a horizontally extending position opposite and longitudinally aligned with the said aperture, a carriage horizontally reciprocable towards and away `from the swaging head to carry the positioned wire into and out of the swaging head aperture, said carriage being provided with chucking means including opposed jaws for gripping and holding solely by itself the said positioned wire in longitudinally aligned relation to said aperture during the reciprocating movement of the carriage, means for actuating the elevator and carriage in proper time relation to raise the elevator during retraction of the carriage and to lower the elevator during the advance movement of the carriage, said actuating means comprising a freely suspended weight operatively connected with said carriage to advance it toward the swaging head and press the wire carried thereby into the swaging head with uniform force, means for opening said jaws to release the swaged wire upon retraction from the said aperture, a wirereceiving chute located to one side of said elevator, and a deflector mounted on said carriage and arranged to receive and guide into said chute the the elevator.

CLARENCE E. MCKINSEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Berry July 24, 1883 Berry May 28, 1889 Morris July 16, 1901 Carlson May 6, 1924k Number 

